"A Thai court has sentenced a fraudster to more than 13,000 years in prison.
Pudit Kittithradilok, 34, admitted running a Ponzi scheme whereby he promised investors artificially high financial returns.

About 40,000 people were persuaded to pour more than $160m (£120m) into his companies.

The court found he engaged in illicit lending and some 2,653 counts of fraud. Thanks to his confession, it halved his sentence to 6,637 years and six months.

He is unlikely to serve more than 20 years, as Thai law sets a maximum 10-year term for each of the two crimes he was convicted of.

Prosecutors told the court that Pudit organised seminars where attendees were encouraged to invest in what he said were businesses linked to property development, beauty, used cars and exports, among other things.

According to the Bangkok Post, investors were promised generous returns, plus incentives to bring new members on board.

As with any pyramid scheme, these new cash injections would then be used to pay off the earlier backers.
Pudit had been held in Bangkok Remand Prison since his arrest in August, when he was denied bail.

The court fined his two companies the equivalent of $20m each. Pudit and the firms were ordered to repay around $17m to the 2,653 identified victims, with 7.5% yearly interest.

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source

That's 57 million of 160 million plus interest. It was specified how long the interest payments went on so, conceivably, after 20 yrs. in the slam, he could come out with a good chunk of change. Dumb jerk.

People were evacuated from their homes and up to 1,600 vehicles were incinerated in 1,000C inferno
Fire engulfed 7 floors of multi-storey car park at Echo Arena in Liverpool after Land Rover burst into flames
The blaze could have been stopped if sprinklers had been fitted in the ten year-old building, fire chief said

,000C inferno that incinerated up to 1,600 vehicles in a car park 'could have been stopped' if sprinklers had been fitted in the building.
Fire hot enough to melt aluminium engulfed seven floors of the multi-storey car park at the Echo Arena on Liverpool's waterfront after a Land Rover burst into flames and quickly spread to other vehicles on Sunday night.

Terrified motorists abandoned their cars and fled in panic along with 4,000 people who were evacuated as the final event of the Liverpool International Horse Show was called off at the Echo Arena.

Around 80 horses were rescued and residents and tourists staying in apartments and hotels nearby had to spend New Year's Eve in a temporary shelter as their buildings were evacuated amid fears for their safety.
On Monday, pictures showed the floors of the car park had been vaporised and vehicles were reduced to ashes by the blaze that reached temperatures between 800C and 1,000C.

Former footballer Mark Wright's family were among those caught up in the terrifying drama and his wife Sue captured a photograph of the car which sparked the blaze just moments before flames tore through the building.

Dan Stephens, of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS), has now said a sprinkler system would have given crews a 'much better' chance of stopping the fire.

May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!

"Patients started to ask about penis whitening, and so we started the treatment a month later," he explained. The cost of the laser procedure is $650 (£480) for five sessions.

It remains to be seen, though, whether indeed there's enough Thai men wanting to have their private parts a shade whiter.

The clinic currently gets an average of 20-30 patients a month coming for vagina and penis whitening with some coming from as far afield as Myanmar, Cambodia and Hong Kong.

"They are popular among gay men and transvestites who take good care of their private parts. They want to look good in all areas," Mr Popol explained.

'Penis whitening is not necessary'
Thailand's Public Health Ministry has already reacted to the sudden attention the clinic has been receiving.

The ministry warned about possible side effects such as pain, inflammation or scars and even effects on the reproductive system and on having sex.

Stopping treatment would cause the skin colour to return to normal and may result in "nasty-looking spots", the ministry said.

"Penis laser whitening is not necessary, wastes money and may give more negative effects than positive ones," Dr Thongchai Keeratihuttayakorn of the ministry said in the statement.

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Racism furore over ads
Skin whitening has been a big trend across Southeast Asia over the past decades. Overall, Lelux says more than 50% of its patients are coming for such treatments.

The trend is largely attributed to the lingering traditional perception that having fair skin means not being part of the working class, and not having to work in the fields.

A screenshot from the commercial for the Snowz whitening product
Image caption
A recent ad sparked a debate online, with a lot of commentators calling it racist
There is an abundance of skin-whitening products on the market and what's caused controversy in the past was usually advertising campaigns to promote these.

A skin-whitening cream, for instance, put an ad above the seats on Bangkok's public transport, saying: "Only white people can sit here."

Another Thai cosmetics firm had to withdraw its video advertising a skin-whitening product after it was attacked on social media for being racist. In the ad, a famous actress attributed her success to her fairer skin.

Yet attitudes about skin colour are slowly changing in the past years.

During the 2014 Miss Thailand World beauty contest, for instance, much comment centred on how dark the winner's skin was compared to typical contestants.

At the time, the model Nonthawan "Maeya" Thongleng said she wanted to encourage all other women who felt insecure because of their darker skin.

Thailand's prime minister has taken a novel approach to avoiding questions at a news conference, by leaving a cardboard cutout to do the job.

Prayuth Chan-ocha briefly spoke to an audience outside Government House in Bangkok, before the life-sized replica was brought out.

"If you want to ask any questions on politics or conflict, ask this guy," Mr Prayuth said, then walked away waving.

Mr Prayuth led a military coup in 2014 and was named PM later that year.

The government has promised to hold nationwide elections, but they have been repeatedly been pushed back.

In April the country voted in a referendum on a new constitution and a changed electoral system, which observers say is likely to lead to a more splintered parliament.

Shaking hands with cardboard
The prime minister was speaking to Thai families and reporters on Monday ahead of Children's Day on Saturday.

The BBC's Thai service says the cutout is likely one that will be on show on the day, when children will be given access to the official residence and the prime minister's office.

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Reporters may have hoped to ask him questions about issues including the elections, about rumbling violence in the south, or the severe lese majeste laws under which numerous people have been jailed for insulting the monarchy.

But instead those in the audience were left only with the option of taking pictures with the cutout of Mr Prayuth in a handshake pose.

This week's tale of pretentiousness and warped social mores begins in the sleepy seaside town of Hua Hin.

Sleepy seaside town? Such was the description of Hua Hin when I first made a stop there a quarter of a century ago, but now?

There's nothing "sleepy" or even "seaside" about the place.

It's a beach town where you can't see the beach. The main road doesn't run parallel to it; I have no idea where a family who decides "I say! Let's go to the seaside!" would park their car and unpack their pails and spades. That last sentence sounds like I'm living in an Enid Blyton alternative universe, but you get what I mean.

For many years the two major seaside towns were Pattaya and Hua Hin. The former was the racy older sister who flirted with all the boys as she sat on the beach in a thong listening to EDM.

Hua Hin was the pudgy little sister with pigtails and coke-bottle glasses who sat, in her sensible floral one-piece with the bright orange and brown frills, reading Nancy Drew and Black Beauty.

That all changed. Pattaya is still the same, though at her age she should be thinking about settling down, while Hua Hin? She has turned positively metrosexual, giving up the semi-rural beach atmosphere for colossal condo projects, five-star resorts and high-class malls.

My sister arrived for New Year with her family, including two children who are going through their angst-ridden teen years. I thought perhaps that having a hipster uncle in Bangkok, Thailand, might score points for me on the cool scale. Nope. Bottomless computer screen preferable.

My sister berated me for taking her to Hua Hin because I sold it to her as a "nice quiet holiday". It didn't help that my niece had just returned from Florida.

"This place looks like Miami," she said as I took them for a leisurely drive.

"Hardly a seaside town," replied my nephew, 14, in a tone so dry I reached for my water bottle containing liquid far more spirited than my nephew and niece would ever be.

On that cloudy day we ended up in a brand new upmarket shopping centre, just down from Market Village, another shopping centre. Yes, Hua Hin requires two mega-malls, otherwise what is one to do in a beach city without access to a beach?

Driving into the car park, the first thing I came across was a partitioned area, with an absence of cars, and a sign:

I came to a stop right in front of the sign. A security guard saw me slow down and immediately rushed over, blowing his whistle and pointing off stage somewhere. The message was clear; move on, riff-raff.

I drive a Teana, dear reader. Yes, that's right, a luxury car … sort of. It's a Teana from 2008 so yes, there are a few scratches and nicks, the tyres are bald, and that strange rattle in the engine refuses to go away.

Nevertheless, it is still a Teana. It's good enough for the security guards at the entrance to my housing village to salute it. Upon entering and leaving they stand to attention, click their heels and salute. This became a bone of contention a while back when my car was being serviced and I happened to walk out of the housing village, past those security guards. Both young men looked up at me as I passed.

Not a salute. Not a stand to attention. Not a click of heels. It gave me the uneasy revelation that they are not saluting me on any given day -- they are saluting my car.

But there we were, my family in my banged-up Teana, with a security guard blowing a whistle at me.

This provoked the worst reaction of all -- my nephew and niece looked up from their smartphones.
"He doesn't want you to park there," said my niece.

"Not necessarily," I snapped back.

"Then why is he blowing that whistle and pointing?" asked my nephew.

The truth is, I was never intent on parking in the SUPERCAR zone, even if it was as barren as a Mother Superior in her twilight years. I merely wanted to take a picture of the sign. Foolish me. Now I had people, both inside and out, clutching whistles and smart phones, assuming I wanted to park there.

"I thought you said you were famous here," my nephew muttered, in droll, teenaged tone.

"I never said anything of the sort. And what's that got to do with anything?"

"A famous person would be allowed to park there."

"Not if he was in a Vios. Isn't there a Candy Crush or Angry Bird you have to get back to?"

Then I realised; the security guard wasn't blowing his whistle and pointing me away. He was pointing me into a vacant car space, directly opposite the SUPERCAR PARKING sign. Of all the embarrassment; not only am I not allowed to park there … I have the humiliating vista of looking at the empty spaces, like some beggar standing outside a palace!

What has happened to Thailand? One of the big news stories doing the rounds at present is about our deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan. Now remember this government is not in power via an election. It stormed its way in, screaming about the rampant corruption of the prior administration and swearing to eradicate all said corruption.

Therefore it doesn't look good when Gen Prawit is the owner of 24 extremely expensive watches, all of which he claims were given to him by friends. Where on Earth can I find friends like that?

You just know that, somewhere in his dressing parlour, Gen Prawit has a small sign attached to a gilt-handled drawer that reads SUPERWATCHES.

It's not just the anti-corruption crusaders who are basking in luxury. It was revealed, in 2016, that one of the strongest contenders for the position of Supreme Patriarch in this country was an avid collector of high-end cars. He had a Mercedes W186, one of 6,757 cars investigated by DSI police that year on suspicion of tax evasion.

Monks in Supercars -- sounds like a Russ Meyer movie. If ever the monk has a sermon to deliver in Hua Hin, I know just the place where he can park.

Our values are all upside down. When I build my first strip mall, I'm going to make a sign that says SUPERINTELLIGENT PARKING. Don't laugh, dear reader. Surely a mall full of smart people discussing things rationally and scientifically is a more desirable shopping experience than one full of rich luddites in fancy cars.

And wannabes. This week I was at the Emporium in Bangkok when, as I entered the place, I noticed that they, too, have a stretch of car park devoted to SUPERCAR PARKING. There was not a single space available, and as I walked past I counted two Bentleys in a row, two top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz cars, then finally one Lexus.

One … what?

I swear to god. There was a Lexus parked right there in the SUPERCAR parking amidst the Bentleys and Mercedes Benz.

I was filled with uncontrollable rage. A Lexus?! And some security guard with a whistle in his mouth was telling me in my Teana to move on?

My beloved Thailand … where corruption hunters sport two dozen million-baht watches. Where ethereal abbots hord the finest of material possessions. Where supercar slots are filled with Lexus cars, if filled at all.

I absolutely love it.

May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!

As far as I'm concerned, your Australian cousin talks sense. I think it must be 8 years since I've used Hua Hin beach for the traditional sunbathing/swimming. If we want a beach, it's generally Cha-Am, Suan Son or Ao Manao. Sometimes we might use Had Sai Noi.

Village forces its males to dress up as women after five healthy men die in their sleep, sparking fears the GHOST of an evil widow is taking her revenge
Residents of a Thai village are terrified after five young men died in a few weeks
They believe to ghost of an angry widow killed them in their sleep
She targeted them so she could 'have her way with them' in the afterlife
Villagers put scarecrows with 80cm penises outside their homes to distract her
Others forced their husbands to wear women's clothes and makeup to bed
They say no more men have died since they resorted to the unusual methods
By Nic White For Mailonline

Villagers are forcing their husbands to wear women's clothing and makeup to bed in fear an evil widow ghost will kill them.

Other residents of the remote hamlet in Nakhon Phanom, northeast Thailand, are hanging scarecrows with huge penises outside their homes.

The village of 90 people flew into a panic after five fit and healthy young men died suddenly in their sleep in recent weeks.

They believed a widow's ghost was terrorising the village by seducing men in their sleep and taking their spirits to the afterlife for her to have her way with them.

Terrified villagers are hanging scarecrows with huge penises outside their homes in fear of an evil widow ghost 'killing their husbands'

WE all know what it’s like to drop some loose change from our wallet or purse.
But what if you accidentally dumped 172 gold bars on the ground?
Just ask Russia’s Nimbus Airlines.

A flight was scheduled to transport a valuable cargo of nine tons of gold and platinum ingots, along with a load of uncut diamonds.
It was all worth some 21 billion roubles (A$469,000,000).
But the heavy bags and boxes containing the load in the cargo transport’s belly were not securely loaded.

According to official government news agency TASS, a total of 172 bars broke loose as the Nimbus Airlines AN-12 aircraft lifted off from Yakutsk, the capital of Russia’s eastern Siberia diamond mining region. That’s more than three tons of gold falling from the sky after the transport took off.

“According to preliminary information, 172 ingots weighing about 3.4 tons were found, the cargo crumbled along the runway (at the Yakutsk airport) due to the fact that the cargo was incorrectly fixed. Some of the gold fell out, there were about 9 tons,” a statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs admits.

According to local media, the shifting gold tore open a ramp and part of the aircraft’s body as the heavy slid backwards during takeoff.

The ramp fell on to a nearby car showyard. The gold continuously trickled out.

The depressurised and unbalanced aircraft then made an emergency landing at another airport at Magan, some 12km away. None of its five crew members were injured, officials say.

Secret service agents and police were summoned to mount an urgent and intensive effort to recover all the gold bars scattered over both runways and the 26km route the cargo aircraft took between them.

According to the Siberian Times, several cargo engineers from the airport of departure were detained. TASS says the engineers were members of the aircraft’s own crew.

YouTube The Siberian Times

May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!